Thanks for the memories.

Seeking to expand its presence in the consumer digital storage category, a prominent electronics manufacturer wants to explore ideas that will address relevant consumer needs. But first, they need to know exactly who their consumer is, and how she uses digital storage.

OBJECTIVES

Three key objectives are set:

1. Identify the female consumer persona.Perform research to establish the demographic and psychographic persona of the target consumer, and build a profile to put a human “face” on her.

2. Detail the consumer usage habits of the target persona.Utilize research to discover how a sizeable group of target consumers buy and use digital storage for photo and video needs. Understand and quantify their attitudes and behaviors to uncover any “need gaps” that the company’s products might be able to fill.

3. Uncover the most important feature within new product ideas.Analyze research to determine the most important usage feature and subsequently inform the client’s list of new product ideas to determine which one(s) best address the target consumers’ need gaps.

SERVICES

For this project, the primary service required will be:

Research Services (link to more info below)

Quality research is the foundation on which successful marketing decisions are made. The Research Services contract is tailored to the specific project objectives to create a comprehensive base of knowledge.

For this project, research is used to clarify the persona profile of the target consumer, and to identify the consumer habits – purchasing and usage – as they relate to digital storage of photos and videos. It is presumed that the emotional aspect of this consumer-product connection will be slightly higher because photos and videos represent memories to the target consumer. For this reason, face-to-face research is included to track emotional response. (See METHODOLOGIES listed below.)

In addition to Research Services, this project also requires:

Advisory Services (link to more info below)

Using data and insights gained through the research, Advisory Services offers a wide range of consulting that extends beyond the research contracts and provides the electronics manufacturer with the counsel and advice of research experts. The Advisory Services piece is crucial in helping company leadership most effectively integrate and implement the insights gained through research into ongoing marketing, sales, and even internal cultural efforts. In this case, the company benefits from an Advisory Services contract that puts a research consultant on-call for up to a year to work with key personnel to develop, launch, and market the new product.

Education Services (link to more info below)

Research is only as good as how well it is applied across a business’s customer experience. Through Education Services, company leaders take the research insights they have gained and implement them organization-wide using tools like Sales Training Workshops, Single Session Seminars, Executive Training, On-going Topic-Specific Classes, Marketing/Selling to Women, Online Training Classes, Custom Multi-Day Retreats, and much more. It is extremely valuable to educate the company’s sales teams as to the needs gaps that the product fills, as well as how the target consumer purchases and uses the new product.

METHODOLOGIES

This project requires at least two research methodologies:

In-Home Ethnographic VideosConsumers within the target consumer persona are selected and directed to create a few short videos showing how they record and store digital photos and videos, what features they like/don’t like in current products, and what they would be looking for in a new product to meet their needs.

Quantitative Attitude and Usage and Pet Peeves StudyTo further verify the findings of the in-home video research, a large-scale A&U Study is conducted to chart the attitudes and usage habits of much larger groups of consumers and to better identify needs gaps on a national scale. Research performed in a person’s natural surroundings gives researchers context and information not found in a clinical setting.

RESULTS

(Due to the confidential nature of research projects and client agreements in force, specific results cannot be shared. Outcomes have been synthesized based on an amalgam of results from similar projects.)

Most of the results from the research are as expected – with one important exception. A surprising consumer need gap is discovered that prompts the client to develop a product in a new category – a niche all its own.

From this information gathered through Research, Advisory and Education Services, the product launch team is able to develop several viable new product concepts, optimal price ranges, and key product features that will appeal to the target persona and fill the need gap. In addition, the product launch is made more successful because the research and ongoing expert consultation enables the launch team to establish highly targeted communication priorities and target markets for each product feature.